David Hammond & Lyn Cheyne Tackle Destination Management Gap

New Team Tackles Destination Management Gaps

David Hammond and Lyn Cheyne have teamed up to provide specialist Destination Management and Marketing advice, expertise and support to Australasian local government organisations and interests. The pair have come together to use their unique set of management and marketing skills as tourism reaches the highest levels it has seen to date in New Zealand.

With December 2016 reaching a peak of almost 500,000 visitor arrivals, the country is questioning its capacity to accommodate the numbers and projected growth. Freedom camping is a significant issue in a number of regions and districts. Local populations are increasingly concerned about the numbers of visitors and their effect on the environment and community spaces.

David, Director of Hammond Robertson, has already established himself as a “go-to” tourism specialist for local government following previous roles as Chief Executive of Ruapehu and Thames-Coromandel District Councils. He established the Tourism Council Workgroup in 2015 and was recognised in 2010 with the Tourism Industry Association Award for Best Project in Local Government in support of the tourism industry and also the NZ Post SOLGM Award.

He is currently the Acting CEO of Nelson City Council and is developing the Freedom Camping Strategy for the area as well as Destination Management advice for Horowhenua.

Lyn is no stranger to marketing destinations having grown Whanganui’s tourism sector over the last four years with her expertise in services marketing. One of the toughest regions in New Zealand to promote from its previous reputation, her strategies have increased tourism numbers, tourism spend and also lifted the national perception and positioning of Whanganui as a arts and cultural hub to visit.

As Executive Officer for Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers for 11 years Lyn worked on developing the Hawke’s Bay red wine story and positioning on the national and international radar as New Zealand’s full bodied red wine region. With previous roles in economic development Lyn is also a NZ Business Mentor and passionate about regional economic development and the dispersal of tourism beyond New Zealand’s gateway cities.

“We know we can add real value to this space” says David. “We want to work with local government to help them understand the value and benefits of being destination managers, how they can best engage with their regional tourism organisations and local economic development agencies and to develop and implement strategies that work for them.”

ENDS

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